Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Oct 2020
Comparative StudyAdjunctive therapy with vitamin c and thiamine in patients treated with steroids for refractory septic shock: A propensity matched before-after, case-control study.
Triple therapy with steroids, vitamin C and thiamine has been recently proposed as a safe and beneficial in patients with sepsis. In 2017, we added the use of intravenous vitamin C and thiamine in septic shock patients receiving low dose hydrocortisone because poorly responsive to vasopressors. Aim of this study is to verify whether triple therapy rather than steroids alone can improve outcome in patients with refractory shock. ⋯ Although with significant limitations, our experience indicated that triple therapy seems to provide an improvement of clinical outcomes in patients with refractory septic shock.
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Journal of critical care · Oct 2020
ReviewA narrative review of pharmacologic de-resuscitation in the critically ill.
Despite evidence highlighting harms of fluid overload, minimal guidance exists on counteraction via utilization of diuretics in the de-resuscitation phase. While diuretics have been shown to decrease net volume and improve clinical outcomes in the critically ill, a lack of standardization surrounding selection of diuretic regimen or monitoring of de-resuscitation exists. Current monitoring parameters of de-resuscitation often rely on clinical signs of fluid overload, end organ recovery and other biochemical surrogate markers which are often deemed unreliable. ⋯ Loop diuretics are a widely available type of diuretic for removal of volume in patients with sufficient kidney function, with the potential for adjunct diuretics in special circumstances. At present, administration of diuretics within the broad critically ill population fails to find uniformity and often efficacy. Given the lack of randomized controlled trials in this susceptible population, we aim to provide a thorough therapeutic understanding of diuretic pharmacotherapy which is necessary in order to achieve desired goal of fluid balance and improve overall outcomes.
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Journal of critical care · Oct 2020
Personal protective equipment and intensive care unit healthcare worker safety in the COVID-19 era (PPE-SAFE): An international survey.
To survey healthcare workers (HCW) on availability and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) caring for COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ HCWs reported widespread shortages, frequent reuse of, and adverse effects related to PPE. Urgent action by healthcare administrators, policymakers, governments and industry is warranted.
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Journal of critical care · Oct 2020
ReviewUpdate I. A systematic review on the efficacy and safety of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19.
To assess efficacy and safety of chloroquine (CQ)/hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for treatment or prophylaxis of COVID-19 in adult humans. ⋯ Patients with COVID-19 should be treated with CQ/HCQ only if monitored and within the context of high quality RCTs. High quality data about efficacy/safety are urgently needed.
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Journal of critical care · Oct 2020
Observational StudyTriage of patients with fever: The Manchester triage system's predictive validity for sepsis or septic shock and seven-day mortality.
Up to 15% of patients arrive in the emergency department suffering from fever. Triage is their first contact and is responsible for the stratification of patients according to the severity of the condition for which they are presenting at the emergency department. The aim of this study is to assess the predictive validity of the Manchester Triage System in patients with fever for sepsis or septic shock and seven-day mortality. ⋯ The Manchester Triage System has demonstrated high sensitivity and negative predictive value in patients with fever diagnosed with sepsis or septic shock. For patients with sepsis or septic shock one-third of cases with an incorrectly assigned priority code were caused by incorrect application of the Manchester Triage System.